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maximum tire size


95CutlassVert

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Hmmm, somehow I missed this thread when it originally came around.

There's a lot of not true statements earlier on in the thread...

 

Just to clear up the facts for anyone reading old stuff:

ALL 225/60R16 tires are 26.6" diameter, +/-0.1".

Front caliper clearance is a function of the wheel design and not so much diameter (all 15" or bigger will clear even 96+ calipers). Higher offset wheels tend not to clear the caliper as well, but I have found OEM offset (i.e. +42mm) wheels that could not clear either.

How wide a tire you can use depends on rim width. See tire manufacturer spec sheets for minimum allowable width.

 

Now to the present...

I bet 30" tires will rub. Badly. The visible wheel wells on a Cutlass are about 30.5" at its widest point in the front, and 31" in the rear. You might get away with no rubbing in the rear, but the front will definitely rub because that black plastic shield to the rear of the wheel well has that raised area that will reduce clearance greatly. My 245/45ZR18's are 26.8" and on one side, they rub on the raised area pretty badly (strangely, no rubbing on the other side). I might have done better with a different brand of tire, because most 245/45-18's are 26.6", +/-0.1"... Michelins are just a hair bigger for some reason. Even 225/60R16's came close enough to brush a clean spot on the raised area on the passenger side plastic on both my 89 and 94 Cutlasses.

 

I can't imagine 225/75's not rubbing. That sounds almost impossible. I would think that would have to be a 14" rim, not 16". If it's really 225/75's on 16" rims... I would sure like to see pics of this off-roading beast!!!

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I thought it sounded a little too good to be true, I mean I can barely fit 30" tall tires on a stock cherokee, let alone a fwd car. And for the record, I don't need a wide tire at all, I just need to know the height that I can squeeze in there. I know most of you with the big wheel combos run out of room rubbing wise, but if my tires are stock width and just extra height, I should be able to get away with a little more.

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Nah, it's not the width that's a problem so much, but the height. At least where my tire is rubbing on that rear splash guard, it's almost entirely due to height.

I think it's Aweb80 that claims he's running 235/50R18 with no problems. If that's true, he's running a 27.3" tire.

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